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Genericide

"The process by which a brand name comes to refer to any product or service of its kind" (wikipedia)


escalator, koozie, onesie, taser, thermos, zamboni . . .


Moreover, by cognate antonomasia,

a proper name may come to represent a class of thing, e.g.,

 "Nero" Lucius Ahenobarbus

“Führer” Adolf Hitler (b. Schicklgruber)

“Duce”  Benito Mussolini

“Stalin”  Joseph Dzhugashvili

"Pol Pot" Saloth Sâr

have all become common nicknames for atrocity.


History’s never kind to such analogy

—it for obvious reasons cannot be.

Ordering obedience in their day,

they gave their names to help define

humanity's horror market's wicked line,

and so, for all eternity, they're necessarily damned—poor swine!


Who’s up there on the block right now

to serve us in this very special way?

Some fine specimens from the hopper

are just about to leap into the chopper.

Having foresworn and sacrificed free will,

their given names shall from now on be swill.

The road to hell is paved with bad intentions,

hoping, against hope, for special mentions.



Monday, february 3, 2025

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Photo by Peter Dreyer

 Cyclops by Christos Saccopoulos, used by kind permission of the sculptor.

Copyright © 2023 - by Peter Dreyer

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